Ana re-joins OG

Yesterday it was announced that OG would be parting ways with try-out/standin iLTW, who had been with the team for just two months. Immidiately rumours started circulating about who would be their new carry, as the team hinted at having someone lined up. And today the return of Anathan "ana" Pham was officially announced.

This is actually the third time Ana will be joining OG. His stint with the team started just after TI6, and was a part of the roster that dominated Dota 2 during the upcoming year, winning two majors. Well almost an entire yeat. The season did not end the way everyone was expecting. Instead of living up to expectations OG, and Ana, flamed out of TI7 in 8th place and Ana departed from the team shortly after. For most of the following season, Ana played with Forev, Keyser, and Saksa without finding much success. However, when OG was in dire need of help at the beginning of June, last year, Ana heeded their call and returned to the organization. And I think the rest of the story is fairly well known.

For OG this signals a return to a proven lineup, yet it's filled with question marks. Yes, OG had great success with Ana on the roster and definitely deserved to lift the Aegis but was that a one-time thing? Did they simply over-perform more than anyone else has ever done or is Ana the savior of this under-performing lineup? Only time will tell.

They were pretty convincing in qualifier and groupstage of TI after a roster change. Notail fits better as aggressive pos5 than a pos1. I always thought it was either fly or notail out of the team because they fill the same role they play.

On March 14 2019 12:11 crocshark wrote:They were pretty convincing in qualifier and groupstage of TI after a roster change. Notail fits better as aggressive pos5 than a pos1. I always thought it was either fly or notail out of the team because they fill the same role they play.

Then they got VGJ Storm , that got no coach and time penalty during the draft, Thanks to VP screwing some games in the group stage. Then They won 4 games against EG & LGD that should''nt be theirs (They also dodged Liquid coz, they Played their wors two games in months against LGD who prepared for Liquid very well). Yes, they played good, but cmon, if a team Like EG Or LGD is this far ahead they don't lose. But mistakes were made. Maybe the pressure got to them. All in all it really made it entertaining to watch, but when you look back with an objective eye...

Keep in mind that they failed in every tournament before TI when there were some decent teams in it.

I am happy for OG HypeTrain that Ana is back, but we have to be realists here. The stars aligned last year for them - they will not align again.

I actually think after his first run with OG, he really just didn't want the lifestyle of travel. He has the look of someone that's not sleeping well at most tournaments. And, at this point, he has 2 Major and 1 TI wins. He's in a place where he can do this and I can't blame him. He's also not even 20 yet.

It also should be noted this is kind of the "time" you'd want to bring Ana back. OG has 3 chances for TI: 2 Majors and the Qualifiers. At some level, they just need to beat one of TL, Secret or NiP and place 7th/8th at a Major. That should be enough to get them to TI without the Qualifiers. If they don't do that, they're still going to be the favorite at the qualifiers.